Despite Wanting to Re-Sign QB1 Russell Wilson, Steelers Expected to Extend Justin Fields After Passing Up 5th-Year Option

Russell Wilson is under a “prove it” deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers, along with Justin Fields, who was traded to the Steelers for a conditional 6-round pick. There is no contention about the QB1 spot, as Mike Tomlin clarified earlier, saying that Wilson is in a “pole position” as the signal caller for the team. But Wilson and Fields’ trade came with a catch.

The ex-Broncos QB will play for a league minimum and about Fields, the team is not expected to pick up his $25 million fifth-year option. For now, both QBs are bound under a one-year contract, but the Steelers did express that they had intentions of inking a long-term deal with Wilson.

Gerry Dulac’s take on Pittsburgh keeping Justin Fields and Russell Wilson

Gerry Dulac, a decorated Pittsburgh Post-Gazette journalist, came on to The Rich Eisen Show and talked about the trajectory the Pittsburgh Steelers are going to take with both of their quarterbacks. “So far, so good. We’ll see how it plays out. You know what I’m curious to see, Rich, is how they handle this going forward. You’ve heard me tell you before that both the Steelers’ intention and Russell Wilson’s intention are to sign a longer deal after the season. That is their intention,” said Gerry Dulac.

But despite all the naysaying about Justin Fields, the venerated journalist doesn’t think that the Steelers got the QB for a short-term deal either. “I do not believe they brought Justin Fields in for a one-year rental”, said Dulac and added, “We knew obviously they weren’t going to pick up his fifth-year option, not at that price.”

The Steelers Radio Network host further elaborated, “I’m not going to sit here and say I expect him to sign a two-year deal, but to make a trade for that guy with that skill set and to be able to hinge your bets a little bit with where Russell Wilson is, I just don’t see them bringing in Justin Fields, and after this season letting him go.”

In the past, Fields has proven to be a dual-threat QB because, in the 2022 season, the QB recorded 1,143 rushing yards and 8 rushing touchdowns along with 2,242 passing yards and 17 passing TDs. His last season was slightly better with 2,562 yards, 16 touchdowns 657 rushing yards, and 4 rushing TDs. Maybe throughout his tenure, the Chicago Bears asked him to stop scrambling for yards.

However, there were some problems with Justin Fields that the Bears failed to address.

A deeper look into Fields’ failed Windy City tenure

The plan for Justin Fields was to sit and wait his turn, which is a normal affair for any rookie in any sport. However, when Andy Dalton suffered a bone bruise early in the 2021 season, Justin Fields was given a chance in week 3 against the Cleveland Browns, which the Bears lost. Fields was forced to mesh with a shabby O-line, a bad receiver core, a bad coaching staff, and a bad front office.

After his rookie season, the Bears had a new training staff, a new management, and even fewer weapons to choose from. Perhaps that’s the reason why Fields scrambled for 1,143 yards and that was possibly the best season he could ask for. Fields had receivers like Dante Pettis, who, despite playing 17 games, came up with an abysmal 245 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Another receiver who played with Fields in 2022 and 2023 was Velus Jones Jr. who has an even worse record where he played 26 games in 2 seasons and had 127-yard record with just one touchdown to show for. Other receivers like Allen Robinson II, Darnell Mooney, and Marquise Goodwin weren’t much help to him either. Only reliable weapons he had were the TE Cole Kmet and the ex-Bears TE Jimmy Graham. But in a sense, the GM Ryan Poles agreeing to trade the QB did and didn’t save Justin Fields.

It seems like the Bears wanted to ostracize Justin Fields to draft Caleb Williams, who came to the organization that now has veteran weapons like Keenan Allen and DJ Moore. To add to this, the Bears also drafted Rome Odunze this year, coming out of Washington having scored 1,640 yards and 13 touchdowns in his last college season.

But if given a chance in the Steelers, Fields might make flashy plays, a glimpse of which was seen in his tenure with the Bears and maybe the Steelers might not trade him. However, the good thing is that Justin Fields still has kept that competitive fire alive as he recently stated, “I definitely don’t have the mindset of me just sitting all year,” and added, “I’m coming in every day, giving it all I’ve got. I’m pushing (Wilson) to be his best, and he’s pushing me to be my best each and every day.” The QB also mentioned that “I’m definitely competing,” and Russell Wilson knows that.